Hailey Van Lith might keep within the SEC as she explores her choices within the NCAA switch portal. The senior guard is taking a go to to Mississippi State this weekend, according to The Next Hoops’ Talia Goodman.
Van Lith is within the switch portal for the second consecutive offseason. She additionally thought-about declaring for the WNBA draft however opted to remain in faculty, the place her scoring expertise figures to make her a well-liked goal amongst nationwide championship contenders.
Mississippi State was not among the many colleges many observers predicted as a vacation spot for Van Lith. The Bulldogs completed seventh within the SEC final season at 8–8 (23–12 general). Nonetheless, she performed beneath coach Sam Purcell for 2 seasons whereas he was an assistant at Louisville and will make a right away impression.
Van Lith additionally checked out Stanford and South Carolina earlier than shifting from Louisville to LSU for the 2023-24 marketing campaign. The assumption was that she transferred to Baton Rouge for a greater alternative to play for a nationwide championship beneath coach Kim Mulkey.
Nonetheless, Van Lith wasn’t a great match within the LSU lineup. Extra of a pure taking pictures guard than level guard, she struggled seeking to rating alongside Angel Reese, Flau’jae Johnson and Annesah Morrow. Because of this, her scoring common dropped from 19.7 factors per recreation at Louisville to 11.5 with LSU. Her 85 turnovers additionally point out the difficulties she had being extra of a distributor.
Van Lith’s challenges have been most obvious through the NCAA event, by which she scored fewer than 5 factors in every of the Tigers’ 4 video games. In opposition to Rice, Van Lith scored three factors. She tallied 4 versus Center Tennessee and two towards UCLA. And within the Elite Eight showdown with Iowa, Van Lith scored solely three factors whereas being tasked as the first defender on Caitlin Clark, who scored 41 factors.
